By Julie Bawden-Davis
In part 1 of our series on webinar, we discussed how to get new law firm clients by using webinars. It can help those in the legal profession attract and retain clients, but only with an engaging topic.
Thinking carefully about what you want to share is important, as your choice of theme directly affects whether you attract participants and if they stay for the whole event. Consider the following:
Know Your Purpose and Audience
Identifying why you want to hold a webinar helps you determine who will attend. Are you interested in improving visibility in your field with other lawyers? Then a webinar (such as this one on how consumers search for attorneys) that speaks directly to them and their concerns works best for this tactic.
Or perhaps you wish to connect with existing clients and make them aware of the breadth of your knowledge and services? In that case, you’ll want to focus on an untapped peripheral topic or upcoming laws that directly affect your clients.
To entice new clients to watch your webinar, it’s necessary to think of a particularly sexy topic. To do so, consider surprising themes that promise viewers a payback for listening, such as “Why Probate May be a Good Idea.”
Get Specific
While it’s admirable to want to share the sum of your expertise in one webinar, it’s not practical or advisable. Trying to cover too much ground in a webinar will exhaust you and those brave participants still hanging on at the end.
Pull attendees in and keep them engaged with a well thought-out, focused topic that zeros in on a particular area of interest and covers it thoroughly. For instance, rather than review all types of power of attorney in your webinar, cover just one, like durable power of attorney. Then create a series that reviews other types in future webinars.
Meet Client Needs
You want to accomplish your business goals, but it’s even more important that you give your clients a good reason to listen to your webinar. Consider potential hot topics for them, like the confidentiality of real estate holdings. What information can make their lives easier, or what topics might confuse them that you could explain? The point is to offer clients something they want to hear.
Ask for Webinar Ideas
If you’re not sure what would appeal to clients, do an email or verbal survey. Suggest potential topics and ask them to choose, and also be open to topic suggestions. When you’re conducting business or scanning the news, take note of areas of concern for your clients. Also be aware when the same questions arises on a regular basis. For instance, if you’re constantly asked when to use a will or a trust, that seems a clear topic of interest.
Offer Substance Not Salesmanship
When developing your topic, avoid becoming overly sales-oriented in your approach. Webinar attendees know that you’re holding a webinar to increase business, so don’t shove the fact in their face. Introduce yourself and your services at the beginning and end of the webinar, but leave the middle for the meat and potatoes of the message.
A successful webinar is chock full of useful, engaging information that keeps attendees interested throughout the event so that they call you for assistance later.
Armed with this knowledge on developing a theme, you can devise a webinar that’s sure to engage and inspire.
What will the topic be for your first webinar?
[...] part 2 of our webinar series, we discussed how to get new customers in your legal profession by choose and developing an [...]